This invention relates to mechanical support structures and more particularly to structures for releasably hanging niche and crypt slabs in mausoleums.
Most societies have created facilities or repositories such as cemeteries and mausoleums for interring the bodily or cremated remains of persons after death. Remains are often kept in openable chambers set into vertical support walls. Larger chambers, often called crypts are dimensioned to inter bodily remains, while smaller chambers, often called niches are sized to inter cremated remains. To save space, the chambers are often rectangular and arranged in row and column fashion along a single vertical wall. The chamber openings are typically covered by a rectangular block or slab. It is fashionable to use heavy, ornate, rock-based materials such as marble, granite or slate for the slabs.
Because a particular slab must occasionally be removed in order to access or add to the contents of a chamber, the slab is releasably hung or attached over the opening to the chamber using a plurality of slab fasteners.
Various slab fasteners have been developed. One popular approach is described in Gallo, U.S. Pat. No. 3,905,169 utilizing horizontal shelving plates for supporting the weight of the slab while a four removable screw-based rosettes placed at the corners prevent forward movement of the slab. This approach offers some disadvantages including wear or discoloration of the visible forward face of the slab surrounding the rosette. Further, removal of the screw-based rosettes is time-consuming. Since a single rosette can fasten the corners of four corner-adjacent slabs, removal of a rosette can cause an unwanted disruption of the fastening of adjacent slabs.
A move toward hidden means for attachment has been gathering popularity. This allows the outer face of the slab to remain unencumbered or potentially damaged by visible attachment means. One example, disclosed in Hala, U.S. Pat. No. 4,021,989 has a laterally adjustable disc-shaped stone anchor which engages lateral slots machined into the sides of the slab. This design suffers from the problematic securing of closely adjacent slabs, and the penetrative machining of the slots. Another example, disclosed in Hu, U.S. Pat. No. 5,280,690 uses rearwardly extending resilient prongs secured to the back of the slab which releasably penetrate holes in a receptor set into the forward face of the support wall. This design suffers from likely inadequate support for heavier slabs, precise placement of the prongs, and awkward removal.
It has been found that due to the heaviness of the slabs and required ruggedness of the fasteners, precise placement of the fasteners is needed. However, slabs are often made with less than exacting tolerances. Therefore, there is a need for a rugged fastener which allows greater leeway in placement of slabs.
The invention results from an attempt to develop a hidden slab fastener which reduces or avoids the above identified disadvantages.
The principal and secondary objects of this invention are to provide an inexpensive durable and hidden slab fastener which provides adequate support, requires a minimum of slab machining, maintains the fastening of adjacent slabs during removal of a slab, and allows for more rapid and simplified removal and replacement of a slab. It is another object of the invention to provide means for indicating the locking condition of a hidden fastener.
These and other valuable objects are provided by a slab fastener comprising a rotatively mounted locking plate located at a common point of adjacency between a plurality of adjacent slabs. The plate is oriented coplanar with the slabs, and sized to engage a slot in the corner sides of each of the slabs. The plate has a cutaway sized and dimensioned to allow for the passage of one of the slabs through the cutaway when the cutaway is rotated into proper alignment. Keyed tool means for turning the plate indicate the positioning of the cutaway. The lock plate can be mounted in a spring loaded fashion to allow minor axial, pitch and yaw movement of the plate during placement and removal of the slab.